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I have a little problem. I'm addicted to cookbooks, food writing, recipe collecting, and cooking. I have a lot of recipes waiting for me to try them, and ideas from articles, tv, and restaurants often lead to new dishes. I started losing track of what I've done. So now I'm taking photos and writing about what I've prepared—unless it's terrible in which case I forget it ever happened.

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Monday, December 7, 2009

To say that I am a fan of truffles and anything with the flavor of truffles would be an understatement. Kurt suggested I would probably like dog food if it had some shaved truffles on top or truffle oil drizzled over it or truffle cream stirred into it. Of course, he’s ridiculous, but I admit to swooning at the mere aroma of truffle products. Therefore, I jumped at the chance to sample a truffle cream product from la Boutique de la truffe. They sent me a jar ofLa Tartufata white truffle cream which contains white truffles and porcini mushrooms made into a smooth, spreadable cream with olive oil and wine vinegar. My first instinct was to sit down with the jar and a spoon, but that seemed a little simplistic. Using it with pasta with mushrooms would have been a delicious way to go, but then I thought about how well earthy potatoes combine with the flavor of truffles.

This was a straightforward kind of dish because I really just wanted to taste the truffle cream with a background of potatoes. I buttered some small ramekins and placed one layer of thinly sliced potatoes in the bottom of each and seasoned that layer. Then, I spread some truffle cream on top and repeated the layers. I poured a little cream into each ramekin until it came about half way up the side of each and topped each with a bit of butter and salt and pepper. They baked on a baking sheet at 425 degrees F for about 20 minutes.

The flavor was just outstanding. I could have eaten these potatoes forever. The silky texture of the truffle cream layered between the tender, thin potato slices enriched with the cream and butter was beyond all expectations for a simple Sunday night dinner. Everything else on the plate, from the roasted baby beets to the rosemary chicken, was delicious too, but it all faded away once I tasted this potato gratin. I haven’t tried any other products found on the la Boutique de la truffe web site, but I can highly recommend La Tartufata.

Mmm. I've never actually cooked with truffles (in any form), but I do love the earthy flavor when I get the chance to try some (so far I think my favorite has been a mac-n-cheese drizzled with truffle oil. But then I love basics when they are dressed up).

I just love the aroma and taste of anything with Truffle Oil drizzled on it! I'm going to have to get some of this Truffle Cream. It sounds amazing! I can only imagine how good these potatoes smell and taste!

That is a great looking combo! I have to confess that I have only once tried truffles and they were a little bit old... :) So I can't say I was very impressed with the flavor at the time, but looking at this little dishes I am very tempted to try and find that truffle cream!